Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Vacation is booked to PORTUGAL!
I'm very excited because we have booked our vacation for our last 2 weeks in Europe - so I wanted to share the news :) We will be spending about 10 days in sunny Portugal, maxing and relaxing and exploring the coast.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Munich and Milan
As you have probably noticed, the second half of our time living in Europe has been quite busy! I scheduled all of my Bain office visits to occur after the New Year so they have been back to back to back. Brussels has not seen much of me and Jay this month.
After our weekend skiing in France, the following Wednesday night we left for Munich. Jay was really excited to test how the German beer compared with the Belgian beer. I'm half joking, really we had so much fun our last visit to Germany so we knew Munich was going to be amazing. I was also very excited to visit the Munich office and spend time with my colleagues there as well as get to explore a new city.
This was our first flight within Europe and it was really easy. The flight was about an hour. When we arrived, Munich had just gotten a lot of snow so it was cold, but still beautiful. Our hotel was right near my office (Karlsplatz) and it was one of those art deco hotels, the hotel bar was booming all of the time - it reminded me of the scene at the Liberty Hotel in Boston.
The visit to the office went really well on Thursday and Friday and we were able to explore Munich the rest of the weekend. Friday night we started at the Hofbrauhaus which is Munich's famous beer hall. I had always wondered what this would be like, it was a lot of fun, good beer for Jay and great food for the both of us. I actually tried this mix of half beer and lemonade, a Radler (or shandy) and it was delightful! The Belgian beer might be stronger, but they don't serve it in liters, the liters in Germany get ya good!
Saturday we spent touring around Munich. My colleague suggested that instead of a touristy bus tour that we take a certain tram to see all the sites and them get off stops on the way back. After the tram ride, we hit up the English Garden which was beautiful but it looked like we would have had a lot more fun without all of the snow! Its hard to make use of the really cool beer gardens in the winter. We then walked through the rest of the garden back to the main part of town with all the shopping. Munich had tons of great shopping and also the best food market that I've seen yet in Europe called the Viktualienmarkt. From there I went on to do some shopping in Marienplatz and then we went back to the hotel to take a little nap and get ready for dinner. Jay's friend had recommended this really cool restaurant for dinner called Brenner Grill. It was one of the best meals I had a in a long time - if you visit Munich, definitely check it out. It was on the fancier side but not too pricey at all, definitely quite "the scene". I had the best salad and tuna entree in my life, the food was impeccable.
Sunday we woke up and headed out to the Olympic park. There, they were having a winter sports festival so we were able to watch people, ski, snowboard, ice climbing and sled. I got excited when we went into the big ice skating rink, I hadn't skated in forever. And news to me, Jay had never ice skated - I thought it would be a great challenge. Jay's now totally ready to try out for the Bruins - really though he kicked butt, he didn't fall at all and was on his own by the end of the hour. From there we went up to the Olympic tower to have a quick drink and snack in their rotating restaurant - the view would have been amazing but unfortunately it was a little overcast so we couldn't quite see all the way into the city. We then headed back for one last visit to the Hafbrauhous so Jay could try one more liter of beer :) and then made our way back to the airport to fly home.
After our Munich trip we had a few days back in Brussels and then it was time to fly out again to Milan. I was really excited for this trip, I just love Italy! I had heard that Milan wasn't beautiful and wasn't that great of a city, but I had the opposite reaction. For one, this is the warmest weather we've seen, it was high 50's the entire time and the sun was always shining! The office visit went really well and Jay and I were also able to take advantage of our new favorite "happy hour".
The Milanese celebrate happy hour by having "aperitivos". If you thought tapas were amazing in Spain, you haven't seen anything yet! Each restaurant and bar, from about 5pm to 9pm, hosted Aperitivos. This consisted of a cocktail/glass of wine, for about 5-10 euros and then either a bunch of appetizers brought to your table - or even better - a full on buffet (which most had). I could not believe how much food was served during this "happy hour" and it was all free. All you had to do was buy one drink! Aperitivo hour made it very hard to actually ever have dinner, lol but what was the need - everything was on the buffet! We were so busy eating that I didn't get to take any pics but here is what a typical Aperitivo buffet looks like.
Friday night we checked out the Navigli district which is the canal district of Milan. There were tons of cute bars and restaurants along the canal so we bar (aperitivo) hopped until it was finally time to get a proper Italian dinner while we still had room in the tummies after the aperitivos! Of course it was amazing, we had no complaints about the food in Italy whatsoever.
On Saturday we tried to see all of the "musts" for Milan. We started off at the Duomo and took the stairs up to the top. The view was amazing and the weather was so great we were able to be in short sleeves. I highly recommend this for anyone that goes to Milan. We then walked through the Gallerie and went to the famous Quadrilatero d'Oro shopping area. For me, this was a quick window shopping experience, it wouldn't be a little bit fun for me to drop that huge of a wad of money on clothes, but quite fun to see other people doing it :)
From there we had to hightail it over to the "Last Supper" which I thought was very worth the visit. We went on an English tour which was incredibly helpful, I learned a lot of new info about the painting. Leonardo was really trying to be a paint in the butt not painting a fresco and painting right on the wall, the work they've had to do to restore this painting is amazing, I'm just glad it is still there for us to see.
From there we went on to Dante Street and I had the best arancini ball of my life. We walked through and checked out the Castle, which was also quite beautiful. Then Jay made a quick trip back to the hotel and I did some shopping on Dante street, still great stuff, just not as expensive as the rest of Milan, I found some great deals with the "sales" that were going on. In Europe sales usually go on twice a year, July and January - luckily these sales made it a little bit into February as well. Usually everything is at least 1/2 off so you can find some good deals.
When Jay got back of course it was time to start "aperitivo hour" again. We then decided we would try out some wine bars in the La Brera neighborhood. The wine that we had that night was amazing, and it was so nice out that we could sit outside on the patios and people-watch, tons of fun in Milan! We then finished off at a great seafood restaurant and I had some amazing Lobster pasta!
The low point came when on Sunday we woke up early so that we could pick up our car rental at the train station to go and visit Lake Como and then later on that day we would drive ourselves to the airport. I was beyond excited about the trip to Lake Como, I had heard so many great things and it was going to be beautiful day. Unfortunately, Milan was not on the same game plan as me. The city had shut down the streets to drivers to halt the pollution for the day and to stop the smog. You would think that the visibility was an issue, really it was another sunshiney day, but I do have to respect that they are trying in some way to stop pollution in this city.
So yes a disappointment but that meant we had more time in Milan to explore. With our guards down, I did get into a little trouble buying a metro ticket. Some guy offered to help me and then took off with my change out to the machine. I knew better but I guess I was so tired, I was just hoping that I wouldn't be screwed. Lesson learned, never let your guard down and unfortunately don't trust anyone.
We did end up making it back into the center of town and we were able to rent bikes for the day. It was the nicest day yet, about 60 degrees, so we biked through the park and some other neighborhoods. We then stopped for a nice lunch at a cafe outside and took in the last sights of Milan before we had to hop back to the train station to get ourselves to the airport.
The next few weeks are going to be really busy. My friend Lisa is visiting us this week and we spent last weekend in Barcelona with her (pics to come). This weekend my entire family and my friend Mark will be coming to celebrate my Dad's 60th birthday which will be so much fun! We have a lot of cool things planned for their visit and we're so excited to end our time here in Belgium this way. Its hard to believe that we have less than a month left... time goes by so fast!
After our weekend skiing in France, the following Wednesday night we left for Munich. Jay was really excited to test how the German beer compared with the Belgian beer. I'm half joking, really we had so much fun our last visit to Germany so we knew Munich was going to be amazing. I was also very excited to visit the Munich office and spend time with my colleagues there as well as get to explore a new city.
This was our first flight within Europe and it was really easy. The flight was about an hour. When we arrived, Munich had just gotten a lot of snow so it was cold, but still beautiful. Our hotel was right near my office (Karlsplatz) and it was one of those art deco hotels, the hotel bar was booming all of the time - it reminded me of the scene at the Liberty Hotel in Boston.
The visit to the office went really well on Thursday and Friday and we were able to explore Munich the rest of the weekend. Friday night we started at the Hofbrauhaus which is Munich's famous beer hall. I had always wondered what this would be like, it was a lot of fun, good beer for Jay and great food for the both of us. I actually tried this mix of half beer and lemonade, a Radler (or shandy) and it was delightful! The Belgian beer might be stronger, but they don't serve it in liters, the liters in Germany get ya good!
Saturday we spent touring around Munich. My colleague suggested that instead of a touristy bus tour that we take a certain tram to see all the sites and them get off stops on the way back. After the tram ride, we hit up the English Garden which was beautiful but it looked like we would have had a lot more fun without all of the snow! Its hard to make use of the really cool beer gardens in the winter. We then walked through the rest of the garden back to the main part of town with all the shopping. Munich had tons of great shopping and also the best food market that I've seen yet in Europe called the Viktualienmarkt. From there I went on to do some shopping in Marienplatz and then we went back to the hotel to take a little nap and get ready for dinner. Jay's friend had recommended this really cool restaurant for dinner called Brenner Grill. It was one of the best meals I had a in a long time - if you visit Munich, definitely check it out. It was on the fancier side but not too pricey at all, definitely quite "the scene". I had the best salad and tuna entree in my life, the food was impeccable.
Sunday we woke up and headed out to the Olympic park. There, they were having a winter sports festival so we were able to watch people, ski, snowboard, ice climbing and sled. I got excited when we went into the big ice skating rink, I hadn't skated in forever. And news to me, Jay had never ice skated - I thought it would be a great challenge. Jay's now totally ready to try out for the Bruins - really though he kicked butt, he didn't fall at all and was on his own by the end of the hour. From there we went up to the Olympic tower to have a quick drink and snack in their rotating restaurant - the view would have been amazing but unfortunately it was a little overcast so we couldn't quite see all the way into the city. We then headed back for one last visit to the Hafbrauhous so Jay could try one more liter of beer :) and then made our way back to the airport to fly home.
After our Munich trip we had a few days back in Brussels and then it was time to fly out again to Milan. I was really excited for this trip, I just love Italy! I had heard that Milan wasn't beautiful and wasn't that great of a city, but I had the opposite reaction. For one, this is the warmest weather we've seen, it was high 50's the entire time and the sun was always shining! The office visit went really well and Jay and I were also able to take advantage of our new favorite "happy hour".
The Milanese celebrate happy hour by having "aperitivos". If you thought tapas were amazing in Spain, you haven't seen anything yet! Each restaurant and bar, from about 5pm to 9pm, hosted Aperitivos. This consisted of a cocktail/glass of wine, for about 5-10 euros and then either a bunch of appetizers brought to your table - or even better - a full on buffet (which most had). I could not believe how much food was served during this "happy hour" and it was all free. All you had to do was buy one drink! Aperitivo hour made it very hard to actually ever have dinner, lol but what was the need - everything was on the buffet! We were so busy eating that I didn't get to take any pics but here is what a typical Aperitivo buffet looks like.
Friday night we checked out the Navigli district which is the canal district of Milan. There were tons of cute bars and restaurants along the canal so we bar (aperitivo) hopped until it was finally time to get a proper Italian dinner while we still had room in the tummies after the aperitivos! Of course it was amazing, we had no complaints about the food in Italy whatsoever.
On Saturday we tried to see all of the "musts" for Milan. We started off at the Duomo and took the stairs up to the top. The view was amazing and the weather was so great we were able to be in short sleeves. I highly recommend this for anyone that goes to Milan. We then walked through the Gallerie and went to the famous Quadrilatero d'Oro shopping area. For me, this was a quick window shopping experience, it wouldn't be a little bit fun for me to drop that huge of a wad of money on clothes, but quite fun to see other people doing it :)
From there we had to hightail it over to the "Last Supper" which I thought was very worth the visit. We went on an English tour which was incredibly helpful, I learned a lot of new info about the painting. Leonardo was really trying to be a paint in the butt not painting a fresco and painting right on the wall, the work they've had to do to restore this painting is amazing, I'm just glad it is still there for us to see.
From there we went on to Dante Street and I had the best arancini ball of my life. We walked through and checked out the Castle, which was also quite beautiful. Then Jay made a quick trip back to the hotel and I did some shopping on Dante street, still great stuff, just not as expensive as the rest of Milan, I found some great deals with the "sales" that were going on. In Europe sales usually go on twice a year, July and January - luckily these sales made it a little bit into February as well. Usually everything is at least 1/2 off so you can find some good deals.
When Jay got back of course it was time to start "aperitivo hour" again. We then decided we would try out some wine bars in the La Brera neighborhood. The wine that we had that night was amazing, and it was so nice out that we could sit outside on the patios and people-watch, tons of fun in Milan! We then finished off at a great seafood restaurant and I had some amazing Lobster pasta!
The low point came when on Sunday we woke up early so that we could pick up our car rental at the train station to go and visit Lake Como and then later on that day we would drive ourselves to the airport. I was beyond excited about the trip to Lake Como, I had heard so many great things and it was going to be beautiful day. Unfortunately, Milan was not on the same game plan as me. The city had shut down the streets to drivers to halt the pollution for the day and to stop the smog. You would think that the visibility was an issue, really it was another sunshiney day, but I do have to respect that they are trying in some way to stop pollution in this city.
So yes a disappointment but that meant we had more time in Milan to explore. With our guards down, I did get into a little trouble buying a metro ticket. Some guy offered to help me and then took off with my change out to the machine. I knew better but I guess I was so tired, I was just hoping that I wouldn't be screwed. Lesson learned, never let your guard down and unfortunately don't trust anyone.
We did end up making it back into the center of town and we were able to rent bikes for the day. It was the nicest day yet, about 60 degrees, so we biked through the park and some other neighborhoods. We then stopped for a nice lunch at a cafe outside and took in the last sights of Milan before we had to hop back to the train station to get ourselves to the airport.
The next few weeks are going to be really busy. My friend Lisa is visiting us this week and we spent last weekend in Barcelona with her (pics to come). This weekend my entire family and my friend Mark will be coming to celebrate my Dad's 60th birthday which will be so much fun! We have a lot of cool things planned for their visit and we're so excited to end our time here in Belgium this way. Its hard to believe that we have less than a month left... time goes by so fast!
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
London trip and Skiing in France
Only a few days after we had returned from our trip home for the holidays, we were off to London. I was scheduled to visit the London office that Thursday and Friday. Again the train was really easy - immigration into London was a little bit harder, they are much more strict at their border patrol, but all went well and we arrived in 2 hours via the train. One thing we've both learned is just how convenient it is to be in Brussels, the high speed trains make traveling a breeze!
We got in late Wednesday night and checked into our hotel by the office and in the Charing Cross neighborhood. We then went out for some Indian grub which Jay was dying for - I have to say it was pretty darn good. Thursday, I went into the office and was able to meet my London colleagues and spend some time talking to transferees. Jay had a little bit of time to seee some of the sights and he had one mission, to pick up tickets at the half-price ticket booth to Phantom of the Opera - and he succeeded. Later that night we were front row center at the show! I had always heard that that might be too close... you wouldn't be able to see everything. It found it to be just the opposite, absolutely awesome! We were right on top of the orchestra so we got to watch them play the amazing music, and we could see all of the actors up close and personal, it was one of my favorite experiences on this trip so far.
On Friday it was another day at the office for me with meetings scheduled back to back. That night we decided to try a London pub crawl on our own. Luckily my friend who was on transfer to the London office last year, gave us a great list to work with. We started out with fish and chips - for substinence of course and then worked our way through the pubs of London in the Soho/Covent Garden and surrounding neighborhoods. What amazed us each night was how early they all closed! Fine for me, since I was pretty wiped - but it made Boston look like NYC!
On Saturday we had booked a bus tour day trip to Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and Bath... let's just say scheduling a pub crawl the night before an 8am bus wasn't very well planned out... but we made it!
We also got quite lucky with the weather, Saturday was dry and a little less cold than what we had been used to. Windsor Castle was pretty spectacular. We were able to tour some of the grounds and go inside and view the apartments. If I were the Queen, I wouldn't be too keen on people touring my house every day, but I'm glad she's cool with it :) The bus tour was pretty funny because at each location we only had a certain amount of time and then had to be back on the bus on time. They weren't joking, one minute before each deadline they were getting ready to pull out. So of course Jay and I were running back every single time ;)
The next stop was Stonehenge. I have to say it is a pretty spectacular site, but since it is such a mystery of what/why/when with the rocks, I was just as happy to take in the breathtaking scenery of being out in the country amongst the sheep. Worth a "quick" visit.
Then next was the trip to Bath which was quite beautiful. We passed through these tiny unique little towns and villages, I would have loved to have spent more time in the countryside. At Bath we checked out the ancient Roman bathhouse. It's really neat to see the history of this little town. Of course, I was ready a full spa day after touring the bath - but it was time to head back to London. It was a whirlwind daytrip but we both appreciated the fact that someone else schlepped us around rather than us trying to drive and see all of that in one day.
On Saturday night we decided to head down to the River Thames. It was still pretty warm out so we found a cute place to grab dinner on the water and then grabbed some drinks outside at a local bar. We then found another pub on the way back to the hotel to close out the night with.
On Sunday we bought a Tube pass and headed to the Chelsea neighborhood to walk around. We grabbed a quick bite and worked our way through Chelsea and Kensington and then took the Tube to Knotting Hill Gate and headed to the Kensington Gardens/Hyde park. We were thrilled when we got there to see there were bikes to rent. We biked through the Gardens and Hyde Park over to the other side.
From there we stopped at Selfridges, this amazing department store and food store. The food store was pretty incredible, it had anything and everything you could imagine to purchase for food and drinks. I ended up getting a couple of really cool gifts for people and we hit up the oyster bar and the wine bar. Boston DEFINITELY needs one of these!
We then had to hurry back to the hotel and grab our luggage so we could make the train home. London was one of our most fun weekends we have had so far. I have to say the language non-barrier probably helped out a little bit, we were quite comfortable in London and were able to navigate it very easily. Which means, of course, we will return!
The following weekend, we joined our friends Melissa and Taylor and their daughter Maddie and a couple that they work with, to ski in Gerardmar, France.
The weekend was a blast! We started it off with a roadtrip to town of Reims in the Champagne region in France. We took a cellar tour of Lanson, which was quite neat! We got to sample the champagne of course and walk around the town a little.
We then spent the next few days in Gerardmar, and went skiing on Saturday and Sunday. The weather was quite cold but the snow was great and the apres-ski was really fun as well!
On the way home we stopped off in Strasbourg for a quick bite to eat for dinner and to walk around the town a little. All in all, a great weekend!
Since the weekend in France, I had an office visit in Munich last week/weekend - which I promise to blog about very soon! To be continued.... :)
We got in late Wednesday night and checked into our hotel by the office and in the Charing Cross neighborhood. We then went out for some Indian grub which Jay was dying for - I have to say it was pretty darn good. Thursday, I went into the office and was able to meet my London colleagues and spend some time talking to transferees. Jay had a little bit of time to seee some of the sights and he had one mission, to pick up tickets at the half-price ticket booth to Phantom of the Opera - and he succeeded. Later that night we were front row center at the show! I had always heard that that might be too close... you wouldn't be able to see everything. It found it to be just the opposite, absolutely awesome! We were right on top of the orchestra so we got to watch them play the amazing music, and we could see all of the actors up close and personal, it was one of my favorite experiences on this trip so far.
On Friday it was another day at the office for me with meetings scheduled back to back. That night we decided to try a London pub crawl on our own. Luckily my friend who was on transfer to the London office last year, gave us a great list to work with. We started out with fish and chips - for substinence of course and then worked our way through the pubs of London in the Soho/Covent Garden and surrounding neighborhoods. What amazed us each night was how early they all closed! Fine for me, since I was pretty wiped - but it made Boston look like NYC!
On Saturday we had booked a bus tour day trip to Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and Bath... let's just say scheduling a pub crawl the night before an 8am bus wasn't very well planned out... but we made it!
We also got quite lucky with the weather, Saturday was dry and a little less cold than what we had been used to. Windsor Castle was pretty spectacular. We were able to tour some of the grounds and go inside and view the apartments. If I were the Queen, I wouldn't be too keen on people touring my house every day, but I'm glad she's cool with it :) The bus tour was pretty funny because at each location we only had a certain amount of time and then had to be back on the bus on time. They weren't joking, one minute before each deadline they were getting ready to pull out. So of course Jay and I were running back every single time ;)
The next stop was Stonehenge. I have to say it is a pretty spectacular site, but since it is such a mystery of what/why/when with the rocks, I was just as happy to take in the breathtaking scenery of being out in the country amongst the sheep. Worth a "quick" visit.
Then next was the trip to Bath which was quite beautiful. We passed through these tiny unique little towns and villages, I would have loved to have spent more time in the countryside. At Bath we checked out the ancient Roman bathhouse. It's really neat to see the history of this little town. Of course, I was ready a full spa day after touring the bath - but it was time to head back to London. It was a whirlwind daytrip but we both appreciated the fact that someone else schlepped us around rather than us trying to drive and see all of that in one day.
On Saturday night we decided to head down to the River Thames. It was still pretty warm out so we found a cute place to grab dinner on the water and then grabbed some drinks outside at a local bar. We then found another pub on the way back to the hotel to close out the night with.
On Sunday we bought a Tube pass and headed to the Chelsea neighborhood to walk around. We grabbed a quick bite and worked our way through Chelsea and Kensington and then took the Tube to Knotting Hill Gate and headed to the Kensington Gardens/Hyde park. We were thrilled when we got there to see there were bikes to rent. We biked through the Gardens and Hyde Park over to the other side.
From there we stopped at Selfridges, this amazing department store and food store. The food store was pretty incredible, it had anything and everything you could imagine to purchase for food and drinks. I ended up getting a couple of really cool gifts for people and we hit up the oyster bar and the wine bar. Boston DEFINITELY needs one of these!
We then had to hurry back to the hotel and grab our luggage so we could make the train home. London was one of our most fun weekends we have had so far. I have to say the language non-barrier probably helped out a little bit, we were quite comfortable in London and were able to navigate it very easily. Which means, of course, we will return!
The following weekend, we joined our friends Melissa and Taylor and their daughter Maddie and a couple that they work with, to ski in Gerardmar, France.
The weekend was a blast! We started it off with a roadtrip to town of Reims in the Champagne region in France. We took a cellar tour of Lanson, which was quite neat! We got to sample the champagne of course and walk around the town a little.
Since the weekend in France, I had an office visit in Munich last week/weekend - which I promise to blog about very soon! To be continued.... :)
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